"So we meet at last," the woman began lazily, her green eyes reminding Sasha of a feral cat that Linda had adopted once - a cat that had hissed and spit and scratched if you got too close.
Sasha regarded her curiously. "You do look familiar. Have you attended my class before?"
The woman looked disdainful. "No, and I certainly won't be back. I'm actually not a yoga fan, I much prefer Pilates."
Sasha's spine stiffened, for Hayley had once said something similar. "You're Lindsey," she acknowledged, her voice sounding much calmer than she felt. "I see the resemblance to your daughter now. That's why you looked familiar."
Lindsey smiled smugly. "Most people think Hayley and I are sisters."
"Hmm. Well, once Hayley's baby is born, I'm guessing that won't be the case any longer. And let me wish you congratulations in advance. You must be so pleased at the thought of becoming a grandmother."
The smiled stiffened on Lindsey's face, and Sasha silently congratulated herself for thinking up such a pointed dig on the spur of the moment. She could picture both Julio and Elena giving her an enthusiastic high-five for so thoroughly putting Lindsey in her place.
"You think you're so fucking superior, don't you?" hissed Lindsey, her green eyes narrowing dangerously. "But don't forget, bitch, that I'm the one Matt's living with now, and the one who's still wearing his ring." She waggled the obscenely large diamond in Sasha's face. "He got tired of slumming it with you, and is back where he belongs - with his family. So your little scheme to steal him away has backfired big time."
"Steal him?" Sasha arched a brow in disbelief. "Just to clarify, when Matthew and I first started seeing each other the two of you had been legally separated for a few months already. And he also told me exactly why he's divorcing you. So I fail to see how I could have stolen him from you when he'd already been long gone."
Lindsey's otherwise pretty face looked ugly now, given the way her features had contorted with rage. "That's all in the past now," she snarled. "And the divorce isn't happening. Matt's back with his wife and children now, so hah hah - you lose."
Sasha gave her a sad smile. "Is that what you think this is, Lindsey - a game or a contest? There are no winners and losers here as far as I'm concerned. And if Matthew is happy, then that's all that really matters to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to do some preparations for my next class. Oh, and speaking of classes - if you do decide to give yoga a try again, I'd strongly suggest you start with a beginners class. My classes are very advanced, and you're obviously not ready for anything that difficult."
She walked out the door gracefully, unhurried, though she was half afraid that Lindsey would hurl one of the yoga blocks at her head, or simply unleash a string of curse words at her. It wasn't until she reached the small studio and closed the door behind her that she expelled the breath she'd been holding for long seconds.
'Well, as Julio would say, that really sucked,' she thought to herself, even as she began to focus on her breathing, forcing herself to regain her composure and calm down.
Once again, Sasha turned to her personal yoga practice to find solace, to retreat to a place deep within her psyche where no one could touch her. By the end of an hour, she was sweaty and sore, but infinitely more serene, and she felt confident that she'd be able to put the ugly episode with Lindsey out of her head.
Her confidence was short-lived, however, as the co-owner of the studio – Serge - approached her with a puzzled expression on his face a few minutes later. Sasha had been chatting with Willow at the front desk when her boss walked up, scratching his round, balding head in bewilderment.
"Hey, Sasha. You got a minute or do you have an appointment coming up?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Not for almost an hour. What's going on?"
Serge swept a hand towards the back of the studio. "Let's chat for a minute in my office."
Sasha followed him down the hallway into his office, not at all sure what he wanted to discuss, and equally unsure if she should be concerned at this unusual summons.
"I'll make this quick," began Serge. "One of your students - must be someone new, since I've never seen her before - complained about you. Said you were rude and disrespectful, and that your class was just about the worst one she's ever attended. I asked her three times if we were talking about the same person, and she insisted that it was you. So - talk to me. What the hell happened?"